Students develop their individual arts practice through a series of targeted design processes. Classes are run in a studio environment, with provision of high-quality resources and personal mentoring to ensure each student can achieve their artistic potential. Students strive to develop a high level of technical proficiency, creative and critical thinking skills and personal ideas and imagery. Students attend gallery spaces around Melbourne and exhibit their own work in professional group exhibitions.

Each week students attend a full-day workshop; structured, technical classes, exploring materials and techniques in photography, painting, drawing and design fundamentals. Each workshop begins by exploring relevant information from art history and theory and trialling new techniques. Students then apply the information and techniques learned in an individual artwork in response to a brief. Relevant health and safety procedures are taught and observed. In year twelve, students collaborate to design and create a wearable art piece for our legendary ‘Fashion Fortnight’.

Students learn to apply their creative skills to product design and development, learning from professional designers and makers in a range of settings. Students learn to apply technology to product development to make professional-grade work, including laser cutting, 3D printing and the application of the Adobe suite. They learn essential business skills such as branding and marketing, costing materials and making a profit and sell their products at the college Arts festival “Couchfest.”

Students investigate study and career opportunities through speakers, research and experience. They learn about opportunities, regulations and practices in the creative industries. They develop skills for job applications, interviews and personal promotion as well as developing tools such as resumes, websites and professional-quality portfolios.

Students create and respond to a range of written and graphic texts. They discuss artworks and art-making practices verbally and in writing, and learn to describe, analyze, review, research and debate about art and artists. They learn about texts specific to the creative industries including grant and exhibition applications, manifestos and self-promotional texts such as artist statements. They use the planning, drafting and editing process to improve skills in personal expression, spelling and punctuation

Numeracy skills are explicitly taught during application to creative projects across the curriculum. Students use the problem-solving cycle to identify the mathematics and then apply the required approach to existing tasks such as technical drawing, exhibition design, risk assessments, cartography, market research and business processes.

Upon successful completion of the qualifications, students may choose to pursue further study or work in the arts.

Many Visual Arts Immersion students progress to the NCAT Folio Preparation or NCAT Photography programs. These are one-year programs aimed at building industry-related skills including training in the Adobe Suite, access to specialist elective subjects, drawing and course and careers counseling, enabling students to find out where their abilities can best be directed into a career. Over the past 25 years NCAT Folio Preparation and NCAT Photography have established relationships with all of the major TAFEs and universities.

NCAT Visual Arts Immersion graduates are guaranteed a position in these highly-respected programs, subject to interview.

Direct entry to Swinburne University of Technology